Bruno's Journey
by kidstaple1
Summary: The epic begins.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Goodbyes**

"If you don't get up, you're not going to be able to get your first Pokémon!" The elderly women screamed, poking the lump that lay underneath the giant fluffy blankets. A loud muffled protest could be heard from under the sheets, as something rustled beneath them.

"Get up, get up, get up!" The old women said, poking the large lump between every 'get up'. Again, muffled protests could be heard from beneath the sheets. "That's it! I'm turning the lights on!" With a loud stomping of her foot, the elderly women slowly made her way across the large wooden floored room, until she finally reached the light switch. Turning it on, she slowly made her way back to the lump under the sheets.

As carefully as she could, she bent over, grabbed the sheets and ripped them off of the thing sleeping under them. "Grandma! Come on, just a few more minutes of sleep... If I don't get enough sleep, then I'm not going to want to go anywhere." The boy, who lay curled up in the fetal position on the bed, replied, gripping his pillow over his eyes.

"Fine, but when you don't get the best pick for your first Pokémon, don't come yelling to me." The boy's grandma replied turning and walking out of the room back hunched over.

"Yeah, I'll remember that." The boy whispered under his breath, as he slowly removed the pillow that had been covering his eyes. He waited a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the light before he got up, slipped on his slippers, and made his way over to a rather small dresser that sat alone in the corner. He pulled out his underwear, pants, shirts and vest, taking them with him into the bathroom.

After a refreshing shower, clothed and teeth brushed, he made his way downstairs through the cluttered living room into the kitchen. "Ah, grandma! It smells wonderful in here, what's for breakfast?" The boy asked, sitting down at the table, ready to devour whatever his grandmother might sit in front of his face. He was disappointed, when she laid a large plate full of eggs, bacon and biscuits in front of him. "Oh... I was hoping you would have made some pancakes for me."

"Beggars can't be choosers Bruno, so shut up, and eat. Your mother will be here in a few minutes to visit with you before seeing you off... which reminds me, did you remember to pack all of your stuff last night?" His grandmother asked, sitting down next to him with a plate full of food for herself.

"Yes. I even packed the extra set of underwear and socks like you told me to do." Bruno replied, cramming as much food into his mouth as he could.

"Slow down, don't eat so fast, or you'll choke on your food before you're even out the..." Grandma stopped and listened carefully. Suddenly, Bruno could hear someone at the back door, knocking.

"I'll get it Grandma, it's probably my mother, keep eating." Bruno replied, dropping his fork on his plate. He was shocked to see not only his mother standing there, smiling at him through the screen door, but also his brother. The screen door flew open, as he jumped up and hugging his older brother.

"Good to see you little brother. Miss me much?" Bruno's older brother asked, ruffling his hair as he let go from the hug.

"Yeah, I did." Bruno replied, still smiling. He quickly hugged his mom, and then led them into the house. To excited to eat, Bruno stood as he offered the two remaining chairs to his mother and brother. He took what was left of his food and scrapped it into the trash can and placing it lightly into the sink.

"So, what are you doing back, I thought that you were still out training?" Bruno asked his brother, looking over at him with a big smile on his face. Eric returned the smile, and then chuckled.

"I'm actually getting ready to head out after you leave. I'm heading over to the Hoenn Region to train before challenging the Elite Four. I thought it would be nice for us to see each other before you go off on your own Pokémon Journey." Eric explained.

"Awesome! I'm really looking forward to getting out there and working hard. Don't worry though, when I become stronger than you are, I won't be too hard on you. I'll just make you my slave!" Bruno said, laughing at himself. His brother laughed along with him.

"I look forward to it bro." Eric replied.

Bruno's mother, who had been quite until now, spoke up, "What time do you have to be at Professor Rowan's lab?" Bruno shrugged, and stole a quick peek at his watch. It was 9:00 already!

"Right now!" Bruno screamed, running around the small kitchen table, hugging and kissing his family members before rushing up the stairs to grab his backpack, hat and gloves. He rushed back down the stairs, breathing heavily. His mother, grandma and brother had all made there way outside, waiting for him to come out. He flew through the door, and then over to them, giving them farewell kisses and hugs again.

When he reached his brother, he was wrapped around by his brother's giant arms. For all he was worth, he squeezed his brother. Instead of a groan of pain, all he got from him was a chuckle. Eric pushed his brother away from himself, and looked him up and down. "I think you'll do fine bro. Just always be true to yourself and your Pokémon, and pay attention to them. If you need anything, just call mom, and she'll give you the phone number to the nearest Pokémon Center that I'll be close to. I'm not promising that I'll be there right away, but I'll try to be as fast as I can."

Bruno was unable to speak. Instead of an okay, or an alright, he just shook his head and smiled.

He said his goodbyes, but before he turned to face the road he saw his brother wink at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**A New Friend**

Bruno's watch read 9:10.

He was already ten minutes late, and he wasn't even halfway to the professors yet! Twinleaf Town was pretty far away from Sandgem Town, but not far enough that he couldn't run the whole way. Bruno pushed himself on, as he kept telling himself that if he didn't get there within the next five minutes, that there wouldn't be a Pokemon left for him to choose from.

It worked.

Less than six minutes later, Bruno was doubled over, barfing into the Professor's bushes, that grew next to his porch. It wasn't long before the Professor opened the door, peaking out to see who it was that was throwing up outside his door. "Ah! Bruno, you made it. Hold on, I'll go get you something to clean yourself off with." Bruno nodded his head, unable to speak because of the vomit flying out of his mouth.

The Professor returned with a cool wash cloth and a cold glass of water. He offered them to Bruno, who took them. He wiped off his mouth and then took a long drink of water before giving his thanks.

"No problem. Well, if your feeling well enough, come on in." Prof. Rowan replied, leading Bruno through a large sitting area that was littered with hundreds of books. Some sat open, laying on the tables, while others looked to have been crammed into the bookshelves that lined the walls. The rest of the books, were the ones that either wouldn't fit on the shelf because of their size, or because the Prof. didn't have any room for them anywere else, were stacked in between any open spaces of the bookshelves, as high as the ceiling.

Bruno qawked at them, until the Prof. noticed that he had stopped, and then walked over to him smiling. "Sorry about the mess, I was doing some research until early this morning. I knew that I was going to have company, but I haven't had time to pick things up."

"It's no problem Professor Rowan, I was just looking at all the books you own." Bruno replied, still staring.

"Yes, well that's only a portion of my collection. And please do call me Rowan, everyone else does... including your brother." Rowan replied, nudging Bruno forward and into the next room, which held as many different machines as there were books in the sitting room.

"Wow, these are awesome, what are they all for?" Bruno asked, running his fingers over a rather tall peice of machinery that had a domed top.

"Most of them help me analize and take care of either sick Pokemon or hatchlings who require the attention that I cannot give to them." Rowan explained, as he stopped in front of a different domed machine, only the top of it looked like a Pokeball. "Come here if you would."

Bruno made his way over to Rowan and the machine just as the Prof. finished punching in a few codes. With a loud beep, the dome split open revealing three Pokeballs encased in each of there own indevidual domes. "Seeing as your the first trainer to walk into my doors this morning, you'll have to excuse me while I get ready."

Rowan reached into the machine and pushed three different buttons, which rolled each dome back revealing the Pokeballs that sat within them. He took each one, and with a soft voice said, "Come on out." As each Pokeball opened, a different Pokemon came out. Bruno was in awe of them. Each one looked cute, and strong at the same time. After a few minutes of staring, Bruno pulled himself out of it, and looked up at the Rowan.

"Wait, you mean that I get to choose first? I would of thought all the other trainers would of been here by now and have chosen there a Pokemon. I expected to get here late and not have a choice in which one a chose." Bruno explained, as his eyes got bigger at the relization of him getting to choose before anyone else.

Rowan chuckled. "Actually Bruno, in my forty years of being a Professor and handing out Pokemon to beggining trainers, I've never seen anyone come in as early as you did. Normally all the trainers don't make it here until well after 10:00." A few moments passed, as Bruno stood before the three Pokemon sitting on the table in front of him.

"Would you like me to introduce you to them? I don't think there is any better way for you to choose." Rowan said, walking over to the Pokemon that sat on the far left.

"Sure." Bruno replied, walking over and stadning right in front of the Pokemon.

"This is Turtwig, the leaf Pokemon." Rowan replied, patting it on the head. The Turtwig reminded Bruno of a turtle, only with a leaf sticking out of the top of its head.

The Professor walked to the next pokemon, and scratched it under the chin. "This is Chimchar, the fire Pokemon."

Bruno smiled at the monkey looking Pokemon. It looked almost like one, except it had flames coming from it's tail.

"And last but not least is Pinplup, the water Pokemon." Rowan smiled, patting the Pinplup on the head. He walked over and closed the dome machine, while Bruno stood and looked each Pokemon over. After a few minutes of silence, Bruno looked over to Rowan and said, "I think I know which Pokemon I'll pick."

"Alright then, which one is it?" Rowan asked.

"That one," he pointed at Chimchar, who began jumping up and down.

"Chimchar?" Rowan asked, pulling a Pokeball from out of his lab coat pocket.

"Yeah, Chimchar." Bruno replied, relieved that he was able to pick his own Pokemon.

"Are you sure?" Rowan asked, looking down at Bruno, a serious tone on his face. Bruno thought he looked goofy with a serious look on his face, especially with the handlebar mustache. He kept from giggling, as he nodded his head in confirmation.

"Alright then, here is Chimchar's Pokeball." Rowan replied, handing him the small sphere. "I also have a few more things for you. First, I'm gunna give you five Pokeballs so that you can get started on building a team." The old man pulled out five Pokeballs from his lab coat and handed them to Bruno.

Bruno pocketed them, in the right pocket, as to not confuse them with Chimchar's Pokeball.

"Second, I'm going to give you this Pokedex. It will help you with identifying various Pokemon that you may come across while on your travels. If at anytime you are unsure of the type or the moves that that Pokemon has, then consult the Pokedex, it will be of considerable value to you while on your journey." Rowan reached into his other coat pocket and produced a thin red and black thing. He handed it to Bruno with another serious look upon his face, and said, "Take care of these gifts, especially the Pokedex. They aren't cheap, and that's the only one I'm going to give you."

Bruno nodded that he understood. "Thank you Professor. I'll take care of the Pokedex and Chimchar."

"Very well. Let me see Chimchar's Pokeball, and I will show you how to put him back into it." Rowan held out his hand, as Bruno placed the Pokeball gently into it.

"Have fun with Bruno, Chimchar. Return." A thin, long red light enveloped Chimchar, as he dissapeared into the ball.

"Here's your Pokemon, Bruno. Take care of him, and be careful on your journey. I hope to see you get as far as your brother has, and maybe even further!" The Professor said, shaking the young kids hand, as he led him out onto the front steps of the lab.

Bruno made sure that he had everything, and then began walking down the dirt road towards Jubilife City.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Timmy**

The trees hid the figure well.

Bruno, who had been walking for what seemed hours, had only actually been walking for about an hour and a half, before he stopped and sat down on a fallen over rotting tree trunk. He pulled out a bottle of water from his pack, taking a long drink from it. It wasn't exactly cold, but it was wet and satisfying, which was the only thing that mattered to Bruno at that point in time.

He pulled Chimchar's Pokeball from his pocket, and looked down at it smiling. He had finally recieved his first Pokemon! This was a giant step for him in his life, and he was more than eager to get started. Smiling, he tossed the Pokeball into that air as he stood up and said, "Come on out Chimchar!"

With a bright red light, the fire monkey Pokemon appeared before him. It jumped up and down happy to be out of it's confines, and finally face to face with it's master. Before Bruno realized what Chimchar was doing, the fire monkey was sitting on his shoulder, playing with Bruno's official Sinnoh League hat. "Hey stop that, that's mine!" Bruno laughed, putting the hat back on his head correctly.

"Oh, how cute!" The figure, who had been hiding behind a tall tree said, stepping out from behind it.

"Hi!" Bruno said, smiling at the stranger.

"Looks like you've got a Pokemon there friend, care to have a quick battle?" The stranger asked, moving a strand of long black hair away from his face. The stranger looked to be about four or five years older than Bruno was, putting him at about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was tall, standing at about 6' even. He wore a pair of black jeans, a black shirt with the official Sinnoh league symbol on it, and a rather wide white bandana around his head, which seemed to be keeping most of his long hair away from his face. Bruno looked down at the kids belt and realized that the stranger had a full belt! Six Pokemon!

Bruno smiled and shook his head, accepting the challenge. "Yeah, I'll battle you, but not without learning yoru name!" Bruno replied, as he felt Chimchar jump down from his shoulder and stand defensively in front of him.

The stranger smiled and walked forward, about a foot away from Chimchar and himself, holding otu a hand.

"Sorry, the names Timmy." He replied, offering his hand out to Bruno. Bruno took it, shaking Timmy's hand. He noticed that he had a rather strong grip.

"My names Bruno, and this is Chimchar!" Bruno said, letting go of Timmy's hand.

"Nice to meet you Chimchar." Timmy replied looking down at the Pokemon.

"Chimchar and I just met today, he's my first Pokemon!" Bruno replied, standing still as Chimchar climbed up the back of his leg, to settle on his shoulder.

"Oh, really? Well then maybe I won't challenge you to a battle after all. I don't want to crush you if your new to battling." Timmy replied, laughing.

Bruno's face began to turn red. Timmy was starting to make him mad. So what if he was new at it, he could still battle him. He didn't really care if he lost, as long as he and Chimchar could put up a good fight. "Why, are you afraid you might lose to a noob like me?" Bruno asked, clinching his fists at his side.

"You wouldn't stand a chance against me, Bruno." Timmy replied, laughing softly.

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?" Bruno replied.

"Well, I've got more badges than you, which means that I'm more powerful than you are." Timmy replied, pulling a small black wooden box from inside his pant pocket. He opened it, showing the three badges that he had already obtained.

"So what. What's the big deal about three badges compared to none? It still doesn't mean that I could beat you." Bruno replied. Before he could even stop to think about what he had said, he spoke up, "If you don't think I can beat you, then I'm going to prove you wrong, let's have a Pokemon battle, right here and now!" Bruno pointed to the ground.

"Fine, let's go." Timmy said, pulling a small Pokeball from his belt. He pressed the button in the middle of the ball, watching as it enlarged to the size of his palm. "Alright then, come on out Starly!" Timmy yelled, throwing the Pokeball into the air. It popped open, revealing a small gray and black bird who swooped down and around Timmy's head.

Bruno pulled out his Pokedex and aimed it at the Pokemon. "Starly, the starling Pokemon. Although small, it flaps it's wings with great power." The Pokedex said. Bruno put the Pokedex back into his pocket, then said, "Chimchar, let's go!"With a soft thud, Chimchar landed on the ground before him, patiently waiting for Bruno to give him a command.

"Alright, then Starly and I will start this off, with a quick attack!" Timmy said, as Starly swooped once more around it's trainers head, before flying full speed towards Chimchar.

"Dodge and use scratch, Chimchar!" Bruno yelled.

Chimchar waited until Starly was within reach of him before moving to the side of it's attack. Feathers flew everywere, as Chimchar brought it's small hands across the left side and back of Timmy's Starly, as it sunk it's claws into the Pokemon. It cried out in pain, as it swooped down, mere inches from the ground, kicking up dirt with it's small wings, as it brought itself back up into the air, flying back around to Timmy.

Bruno didn't lose anytime in giving his next order to Chimchar, as Starly made it's way back around to attack again. "Alright, this time Chimchar, when it comes around grab a hold of it, and keep using scratch against it!"

Timmy chuckled, and watched as Starly flew straight for Chimchar again, only this time it followed the monkey Pokemon's moves. Every time Chimchar would try and run ahead so that it could get a good jump on Starly, the bird Pokemon would catch up and start pecking Chimchar. Finally, after a few minutes of the same thing over and over again, Chimchar grabbed Starly's foot, and held on for dear life. Starly began to fly further up, as Cimchar kept scratching it's underbelly, until finally Starly stopped in teh middle of flight, and fell hard onto the ground.

It wasn't moving! Bruno and Chimchar had just won there first battle ever!

Bruno, who was trying not to smile and rub it in Timmy's face, ran forward, scooping Chimchar into his amrs as he threw the Pokemon into the air, as they both celebrated at there win. Timmy meanwhile attended to Starly, who had been badly scratched on it's belly. Spraying a purple looking liquid onto it's wounds, he returned Starly to it's Pokeball, before getting up and walking over to were Bruno and Chimchar stood, still celebrating. It was short lived, as Timmy clapped Bruno on the back.

"Congratulations! I underestimated you and your Pokemon... please forgive me for being so erragant. I've learned that I'm not as strong as I had once thought..." Timmy said, looking down at his feet and the dirt.

Bruno patted him back, smiling at him. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you lost... As long as you can show me the rest of the way to Jubilife City!"

Timmy looked at Bruno, smiling. "Done! I was on my way back anyways. It shouldn't take us that long, as long as you keep up with me."

"Alright. I'm ready when you are." Bruno replied, putting Chimchar back into his Pokeball. Timmy started walking down the dirt road, as Bruno slipped the Pokeball into his pocket. He had the biggest smile in the world on his face, as he followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Fears Overcome**

"Come on, just through this cave and a little further afterwords, then we'll be to Jubilife City." Timmy said, getting up from a large boulder that he and Bruno had been sitting on. Instead of Bruno getting up after Timmy, and following him further down the dirt path to the cave, Bruno sat still on the boulder, not moving.

It wasn't until Timmy looked over his shoulder to see were Bruno was, that he realized that maybe Bruno didn't want to go through the cave. So, with a sigh, Timmy made his way back to the boulder, looking down at Bruno. "What's wrong man? Please don't tell me your afraid of the dark." Timmy said.

Bruno looked away from Timmy, trying not to cry. Timmy sighed, and laid his hand on Bruno's shoulder. "Hey man, it's kool if your afraid of the dark... I used to be, until just recently." Timmy replied, trying to make Bruno feel a little better about himself.

Timmy waited a few minutes, hoping that Bruno might turn back to face him. But he didn't, instead, he kept staring to the side, avoiding Timmy. "Hey man, you do realize that you can use Chimchar, right?"

Bruno turned, facing Timmy with a questionable look on his face. "What do you mean?" Bruno asked, pulling Chimchar's Pokeball from his pant pocket.

"Chimchar can illuminate our path... His tail does have an open flame on it right?" Timmy asked, looking at Bruno.

"Yeah, I suppose so... I never thought of that though! Your a genious Timmy!" Bruno said, jumping up from the boulder and tossing the Pokeball into the air. A second later, Chimchar appeared, excited as usual, jumping up and down.

"Hey Chimchar, do you think you could do us a favor, and light our path so that we can make our way through the cave?" Timmy asked, looking down at the ecstatic Pokemon. Chimchar jumped up, grabbing ahold of Bruno's jeans, as he pulled himself up, landing onto Bruno's shoulder.

"I think that's a yes." Bruno replied, grabbing onto his hat, as to make sure that Chimchar wouldn't take it. They both laughed, as Bruno followed Timmy to the entrance of the cave.

"Alright Chimchar, this is were your tail is going to come in handy... Jump out in front of us, and show us were we are going." Timmy said, watching Chimchar jump down from Bruno's shoulder, and onto the ground in front of Timmy. He gave the Pokemon some space, before following up the rear, letting Bruno walk behind his Pokemon, for comfort reasons.

After about an hour of walking through extremely small cracks, that even Bruno couldn't fit through, and crawling on their hands and knees through gaps in the stone walls, they finally came to a stop. Timmy motioned Bruno over to a small ledge that looked comforting, even if it was hard to sit on. Bruno rummaged through his back, and produced three apples and two water bottles. He handed a water bottle and an apple to Timmy, then gave Chimchar an apple and opened the water bottle for himself. He drank about half the bottle, before offerin the rest to Chimchar, who looked at it strangley.

Both Timmy and Bruno laughed at this, as Chimchar tried to figure how to drink from it. Bruno offered his help to his confused Pokemon, tipping the bottle towards it's mouth. Water splashed over Chimchars face and down his fur, as the two boys continued to laugh at Chimchar. The Pokemon finally figured out that it was supposed to open it's mouth. Chimchar drank what hadn't spilled on all over him, and then handed the bottle back to Bruno.

"Your a goofball Chimchar." Bruno replied, petting his head. Chimchar looked at his trainer and then said, "Chimmmm! Char char chimchar!"

Bruno and Timmy looked at Chimchar akwardly, not knowing what he said. Bruno finished his apple before the other two, got up and looked around the small cavity of a room that they were standing in. "Were am I supposed to throw this Timmy?" He asked.

"Werever dude, it really doesn't matter, it'll end up getting eaten by some Pokemon. I'd just go throw it over in a corner or something." Timmy explained, taking the last bite from his apple. Bruno knodded, and then walked over to the other side of the small cavern, and threw it against a wall. Timmy soon followed. Chimchar, still sat munching on his.

Timmy walked back over to the large rock they had been sitting on, stretched and then looked around the cavern again. Bruno grabbed his things, waiting for Timmy to tell him which way to go. But he didn't instead he said, "I've got to use the restroom, I'll be back in a few minutes. Keep Chimchar with you, I'm sure I'll figure out were a corner is." He walked off into the darkness, leaving Chimchar with Bruno.

Bruno looked down at Chimchar, who had just finished his apple, and smiled at the Pokemon, saying, "Just go over there and throw it. That's what we did." Chimchar nodded, and did so. He sort of hobbled over to the spot indicated, threw his apple core and then turned to walk back. A large blur flew straight for Chimchar. Before Bruno could yell a warning, the thing knocked Chimchar over onto the dirt floor. Bruno ran forward, kneeling next to Chimchar. The Pokemon looked fine, so with a tug, he pulled him up. They both looked around for the thing that had knocked Chimchar over, but saw nothing.

They stood there for a few minutes, until finally, they saw something out of the corner of their eyes. Bruno stood still, and spoke quitly, "Did you see that?" Bruno looked out of the corner of his eye towards Chimchar, who nodded a response. Bruno looked back over to were the thing was, which was now perched on a stone sticking out of the wall. "Alright, on three your going to run up and scratch it."

Chimchar nodded again, bracing himself for the charge.

"One... two... three." Bruno whispered.

An orange blur flew from Bruno's side. At the last second, Chimchar saw a small enough rock to jump off of. He landed with a soft pat, and pushed off with all the strength he could muster. He flew into the air, illuminating his way with his tail. He landed again, this time on the stone sticking out of the wall, and with a swipe of his claws, nocked the Pokemon off of the ledge and onto the floor. Chimchar followed and landed next to the now unconsious Pokemon. Bruno ran forward, patted Chimchar on the head, and pulled his Pokedex out, aiming the small electronic eye at the Pokemon on the floor.

"Zubat - The Bat Pokemon. Even though it has no eyes, it can sense obstacles using electronic waves it emits from it's mouth. Disliking sunlight, it sleeps deep in forests and caves until sundown." The Pokedex explained.

"Alright then..." Bruno said, pulling an empty Pokeball from his pocket, "Let's catch it!" Bruno yelled, throwing the Pokeball. It opened, with a pop, absorbed the Pokemon clicked shut, rocking back and forth, once, twice and on the third time, it clicked and Bruno knew he had caught it. He ran over, picked it up and looked at the Pokeball, a large smile on his face.

"Good job Chimchar, we caught a Zubat!" Chimchar jumped up and down with excitement. There celebration was cut short, as sharp claps reverberated off the walls. Bruno and Chimchar spun, to see Timmy still clapping with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations Bruno!" He said walking up to his small friend and patting him on the back.

"Thanks." Bruno replied. "Our we heading out now?"

Timmy nodded his head, as he explained to Chimchar how he was going to go the rest of the way through the cave. Chimchar set off, Bruno and Timmy following close behind.


End file.
